As images of devastation and tragedy in Nepal and neighboring countries affected by the earthquake pour across social media and TV, the natural question for many of us is "How can I help?"

Image from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/

Here at Expatgiving we have spent some time researching the charities and aid organisations to give you our views on some of the best ways to help. Although volunteering is a wonderful thing to be involved in, it is not always the best answer in such huge scale operations.

A recent article in the Guardian shared an interesting view:

...Something that has been much discussed in the international aid community is the lack of coordinated response to the Haiti disaster. Ragtag brigades of well-intentioned do-goodersflooded the country: students, church congregations, individuals who had previously vacationed in the area, all clambering over one another looking for a way to make their mark and do good, but lacking either the skills or coordination to have an impact. Indeed, many ended up slowing down the aid efforts. There were even reports of teams of doctors who arrived to help but were unable to feed themselves. This wave of unsolicited and poorly planned shipments of untrained people and donated goods was dubbed by some humanitarians “the second disaster”...."

In light of this, often it is monetary donations which are needed, Here are a few fantastiic organisations who you can donate to. Please note these are just a few suggestions from us, please feel free to add in any other organisations in the comments box below.

Singapore Red Cross

It is reported that Singapore donated $1000,000 SGD to the Singapore red cross for aid. despite this huge sum it is still not enough, and is appealing for more donations:

“We are appealing to the Singapore public to help the affected people as they mourn their loss and begin to rebuild their lives. The Singapore Red Cross will channel the funds collected towards acute emergency relief and recovery assistance for the affected communities and the people who have lost homes and livelihoods,” said secretary general of SRC, Benjamin William.

The Singapore Red Cross office is operating extended hours to receive walk-in donors from. Members of the public can drop off donations at Red Cross House, 15 Penang Lane, Singapore 236486, from 9am to 7.45pm on Mondays to Fridays and 10am to 3pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

There are numerous other ways to donate to the Singapore Red Cross, more details can be found here

Facebook

Facebook users have proven that the 'donate now' button on the site has been extremely powerful. Since this tool went live at the top of peoples feeds, more than half a million people have donated raising more than US$100 million in funds for International Medical Corps.

International Medical Corps is an organisation which 'Assists those in urgent need anywhere, anytime, no matter what the conditions, providing lifesaving health care and health care-related emergency services - often within hours"

The United Nation program dedicated to helping children in developing countries, is currently "mobilizing an urgent response to meet the needs of children" affected by the disaster, and is working to deliver water purification tablets, hygiene kits and nutrition supplies to those in need.

GlobalGiving is a charity fundraising website that has set up a fund specifically for Nepal relief efforts. The money collected will go to “help first responders meet survivors' immediate needs for food, fuel, clean water, hygiene products, and shelter. Once initial relief work is complete, this fund will transition to support longer-term recovery efforts" run by vetted local organizations, according to a post on the GlobalGiving site.

If you haven't done so already, we urge you to donate whatever you can to the Nepal crisis. As mentioned, these 4 organisations mentioned are just a small percentage of the many, many charities out there.

Fundrasing events are also a great way to get the whole community together for a great cause, if you are holding an event then we'd love to hear from you!

Finally, from everyone here at Expatgiving, our thoughts are with the people of Nepal in this tragic and devastating time.